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CC 2022-05-24_08e Supplemental 1MEMORANDUM TO: City Council FROM: Jessica Matson, Legislative & Information Services Director/City Clerk SUBJECT: Supplemental Information Agenda Item 8.e. – Consideration of Authorizing the Display of the LGTBQ+ Pride Flag During the Month of June 2022 at Heritage Square Park and at City Hall Agenda Item 8.f. - Consideration of Authorizing the Display of the Juneteenth Flag During the week of June 17-24, 2022 at City Hall D ATE: May 24, 2022 Attached is correspondence received before 4 p.m. for the above referenced items. cc: City Manager Assistant City Manager/Public Works Director Community Development Director City Attorney City Clerk City Website (or public review binder) From: Sheri Honeycutt < Date: May 23, 2022 at 5:04:27 PM PDT To: Keith Storton <kstorton@arroyogrande.org> Subject: Flags Dear Mr. Storton, I would like to respectfully request that the City of Arroyo Grande adopt a Flag Display Policy at your meeting tomorrow, May 24, 2022, that represents all citizens of our town, instead of discussing the flying of the LGBTQ+ flag or a flag for Juneteenth. The city of Arroyo Grande should be non-partisan and commemorative flags should be flown only by private individuals or businesses. I would like to see only the flags of the United States, California and the City of Arroyo Grande flown at City Hall. There is no way the city can fairly represent all citizens and be inclusive, like stated, with commemorative flags. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Sheri Honeycutt Resident of Arroyo Grande for 21 years and a small business owner From: Scott Kohlbush < Sent: Monday, May 23, 2022 9:40:03 AM To: crayrussom@arroyogrande.org <crayrussom@arroyogrande.org> Subject: Flag Display Policy Dear Caren, I respectfully request that the Arroyo Grande City Council revise and adopt a Flag Display Policy that is fair for all the citizens of Arroyo Grande. A genuinely non-partisan policy, one that avoids even the appearance of government bias, would only allow for the flags of the United States, California, and the City of Arroyo Grande to be displayed at city-owned or maintained facilities. The display of commemorative flags such as the LGBTQ+ Pride Flag or the flag of any other organization, nation, or social movement should be relegated to the private sector. The Charter of the City of Arroyo Grande explicitly states that “Local government will promote the health, safety, and welfare of all citizens of this city.” Community representatives such as yourselves, therefore, should not endorse the LGBTQ+ movement - a movement that demeans women by allowing trans athletes to dominate women’s sports and biological men to enter women’s restrooms - a movement that harms children and teens by encouraging them to seek radical treatments such as puberty blockers and non-medical mastectomies, both of which can result in permanent bodily damage. Additionally, one of the stated goals of this Council’s May 21, 2021 Flag Display Policy is to highlight the “Role of the Arroyo Grande City Hall as an inclusive gathering location.” Flying the LGBTQ+ Flag does not accomplish this goal. Instead, it sends a strong message that those who disagree with the LGBTQ+ viewpoint are not full members of the political community. True inclusivity, the kind that promotes civic unity, would respect a diversity of opinions and be better served by only displaying the flags of the United States, California, and Arroyo Grande. I urge this council to adopt such a policy. Sincerely, Scott Kohlbush Arroyo Grande resident since 1998 Sent from Mail for Windows Links contained in this email have been replaced. If you click on a link in the email above, the link will be analyzed for known threats. If a known threat is found, you will not be able to proceed to the destination. If suspicious content is detected, you will see a warning.